spans of wires and 20 of these cross arms, about 45-pound and now the crew is busy trying to replace every single one of them. >> this restoration here pretty much typifies some of the more labor intensive teach of work that -- type of work that needs to be done. >> reporter: she and her neighbors know it could have been worse. just look back several months ago. >> like everybody we wait. what can we do? >> we actually thought we could lose as many as a million customers. as it turns out we lost about 200,000. we really dodged a bullet with this one. >> reporter: surae chinn, 9news now. >> okay, here's a look at the latest outage number --

to our north -- new yorkers continue to deal with sandy's aftermath. a good portion of new york city is still in the dark as crews rush to try to restore electricity. >> now little by little the city's transportation system is coming back online. limited subway, bus and commuter rail service is going to have start this morning. and ines ferre has more. >> reporter: president obama visited new jersey to sheafiest hand the damage from superstorm sandy -- see firsthand the damage from superstorm sandy. the president and governor chris christie flew in marine one to see the devastation from above. what they say were homes destroyed and streets still underwater. president obama promised the government will do whatever it can to help storm victims. >> we will follow-up to make sure that you get all the help that you need until you've rebuilt. >> reporter: not far away, the search for trapped or missing people on staten island continues. nypd rescued six people from rooftops on wednesday. there are signs that life is returning to normal in new york city. all three airports are open as

of today. as is the new york stock exchange and broadway shows. but problems still persist. traffic in the city is nothing short of a nightmare, without public transportation wednesday, manhattan streets were clogged with people trying to get back to work. there are some good news -- there's some good news, subway and train service is starting up again today at least on a limited basis. >> i am declaring a transportation emergency. >> reporter: mayor bloomberg is mandating that all cars driving into manhattan have to at least have three people. >> i know it is inconvenience for a lot of people. but the bottom line is the streets can only handle so much. >> reporter: officials estimate half of all gas stations in the area are closed. the result long lines. >> hundreds of cars here trying the get some gas. >> reporter: industry analysts say it could take another week. ines ferre for cbs news, new york. >> half of the gas stations in that entire area are closed. that's due to lack of power, the gas trucks can't reach the stations either the refill --

to refill the tanks when they're empty. service along amtrak is slowly returning to normal along the northeast corridor but still no service to new york city. amtrak is attempting to have the service to the city restored by friday. the removal of water under the hudson and east rivers is continuing and any track repairs which may be needed are expected to happen today. a schedule for friday trains is also expected to be released later today. there is an urgent call from the red cross for blood donations in the wake of the storm. about 300 blood drives were canceled because of sandy across the country. if you're interested in helping keep up supplies contact the american red cross. and sandy caused a lot of devastation and can there are people -- and there are people up can down the coast who northeast -- and down the coast who need help. here at wusa9 we're donating $1 for every one of you who "like" us on facebook. it's a quick and simple way for you to help out. campaign 2012. back in full swing once again

today after canceling events all week because of hurricane sandy. president obama goes back out on the trail with events in wisconsin. nevada and colorado. mitt romney is going to make three stops just in virginia today. yesterday, he was in tampa, florida. he avoided directly attacking the president. but he did offer some subtle criticism. >> i don't just talk about change. i actually have a plan to execute change. and to make it happen. >> with the election just five days away polls show the race is incredibly tight. a new cbs poll of likely voters show romney is putting the lead very small. brad pitt is putting money behind same sex marriage. he's donating $100,000 to the human rights campaign to help it support same sex initiatives in several states.

that includes maine, minnesota and washington state as well as maryland. early voting centers will be open again today in maryland. prince george's county executive rushern baker and other local leaders stopped by one voting location in landover, maryland wednesday. the wayne curry sports and learning center is one of five early voting locations in the country. governor o'malley extended early voting hours because of sandy. early voting kents in maryland -- centers in maryland are now open from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. through friday. early voting sites in the district will also be open again today. the polls are open from 8:30 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. today through saturday. the d.c. board of elections says extra voting equipment has been added at all locations because long lines are expected. in person absentee voting hours have also been extended in northern virginia. for a complete list of voting locations, log on to our website, it's wusa9.com. the search continues this morning for a 25-yr-old man investigators believe is responsible for three pipe bomb

attacks in stafford county. virginia. >> detectives say lawrence alan stewart carried out three ttack targets. ken molestina has more. >> reporter: here's the man authorities say possessed the will and ability to set off violent bombing attacks. 25-year-old lawrence alan stewart ii is considered to be armed and extremely dangerous. >> and to be terrorized by this individual doesn't sit well with any of us, we're extremely committed to put him down. >> reporter: the first of three attacks happened here on the 3100 block of normandy avenue in fredericksburg early tuesday morning. his target was a stafford county deputy he thought still lived there. >> we thought it was a gas explosion or something and then it was a bomb. >> reporter: after that. it happened again in the kings grant subdivision and it's believed this was the home of a county sheriff's detective. then once more this time at his ex-girlfriend's house in the country ridge subdivision. >> we believe this guy has been pre-med kated if planned this out for a while. >> reporter: normal one was

hurt in the attacks but authorities say stewart had a beef in the targets. the other deputy officials say had charged stewart with domestic violence in a case involving the third victim in the bombings, his ex- girlfriend. now the suspect didn't have listed address but he was living here inside this trailer with his father. they came here and traded the trailer and authoritien -- raided the trailer and authorities believed the trailer was booby trapped with explosives, but thankfully it wasn't. >> he's made three bombs and deployed it. i don't know much more vicious than that. >> reporter: neighbors there reported shrapnel had pierced the family car. now investigators believe stewart is on the run in a red hyundai accent packed with explosives. >> this man is a serious danger and threat to society. >> reporter: i'm ken molestina, 9news now. today seneca valley high school is expected to send a letter home to parents to

address the safety issues associated with walking to and from school. this comes waneta after a sophomore was -- one day after a sophomore was struck and killed. christina morris-ward was struck yesterday morning around 7:00 and died a short time later at a local hospital. the driver 27-year-old kevin carlson we mained on the scene -- remaned on the -- remained on the scene. this weekend the redskins will celebrate 80 years in football. they are also going to recognize alumni selected as some of the greatest redskins ever. it includes the late sean taylor and running back clinton portis. >> hope the throwback uniforms are much more attractive than the steelers. >> they were awful. >> the outcome of the game was awful too. our time now is 4:48. howard is back in two minutes with a look at your thursday

forecast. >> and trading is underway once again on wall street. >> and lumber and home repair companies expected to fare pretty well in the weeks and months after hurricane sandy. both of those stories coming up at 4:41. >> 9news now continues in two minutes.

4:41 on this thursday morning, another chilly cloudy morning and may see a sprinkle or two especially norse and west of town -- north and west of town. a westerly wind at 10 to 15 miles an hour and a high temperature getting to about 55 degrees. see you in awe if minutes with the -- a few minutes with the weekend forecast. right now monika with timesaver traffic. here at route 110 at southbound, an incident along the right side of the roadway. not affecting the ramp to route 110 but just use caution in that area.

i'll be back with more traffic in a few minutes. back to you. time for the first your money segment of the morning. >> good morning jessica doyle. >> good morning mike hydeck. how are you? >> that sounds sexy. >> you've got the voice going on. we're back to business on wall street for the second day in a row. today investors will get a look at reading on unemployment. as scheduled tomorrow the jobs report will be released tomorrow. it's the last report the voters will get before they head to the polls next week. wall street also a fresh batch of economic reports today. ranging from consumer confidence to construction spending. and analysts expect the reports to paint a mixed picture showing economic growth running at about 2% which is not that strong. as for stocks trading resumed on time and in an orlandoly fashion yesterday -- orderly fashion yesterday. trading volume was light many traders couldn't even get to work in new york city yesterday. checking the numbers --

shares of lumber companies and home depot were the day's big winners. investors predicting many businesses and consumers will spend money at these types of companies because they have to rebuild after the storm. and shares of netflix climbed as much as 16% after financier karl icon bought a 10% stake in the troubled service. icon frequently pushes for companies to sell themselves or to change management in order to boost the stock price essentially comes in as a reorder guy. you know takes a buzz saw to the company. and it comes out a different beast altogether. >> uh-huh. all right. thanks jess. >> you got it. and more and more women are using weight loss surgery to help treat infertility. 9news now returns with your weather first in two minutes.

good morning and welcome back to 9news now, coming up on 4:46. the start of a new month, it's all saints day. and we are happy to see october behind us. >> yeah. >> even though all of the effects of sandy aren't behind us. the snow in west virginia -- >> and garrett county also got hammered. i mean assessing totals in garrett county which have exceeded 30 inches now. right even down in north carolina one of the ski areas there actually open and able to get enough folks to work. so yeah their earliest opening on record. and our ski season will open soon enough. a lot of the snow we have really kind of teaser snow and it will be too warm and melt a lot of it. but they're going to start making snow very, very soon. weather-wise today you want to bundle up and i want to remind you we still have a little bit of high water. a lot of the rivers have crested but the coastal flooding, right for the potomac here in d.c.. looking at high tide later

today running about 1.5 to 2.5 feet above normal. that could cause moderate flooding. so georgetown, washington channel, down to alexandria, we'll watch it later this morning and it might be the evening high tide that we also have to be dealing with some high water. at the bus stop this morning, you're dealing with some chilly air once again and maybe a stray shower especially north and west and temperatures in the upper 30 toss mid 40sment -- 30s to mid 40s. sunrise 7:36. quite dark right now as we're a ways away. almost three hours from the sunrise. 46 at 9:00 and by noon still mostly cloudy if not cloudy. a west wind at 13. they'll be out of the west at 10 to 15 today and maybe even gusting to 20 at times and high of 55 and a 5:00 p.m. temperature of 53. this morning it's 39 in luray. the national weather service got 4578ered with a lot of -- hammered with a lot of traffic. that will come back online but

we've got 46 in easton right now and 41 in southern maryland and fredericksburg this morning 42 degrees. looking outside on the michael & son weather camera, nice shot of the capitol dome. flags are not too -- not too out there. they're kind of just sagging down on the flag pole. mostly cloudy at national. winds west at 6. humidity 63%. and nationally while we've got the big storm in the east we're dealing with a pretty respectable storm in the west coast with some rains and mountain snows but it's what's left of sandy is actually up here in southeastern canada. still though the flow off the great lakes hitting the mountains, the cold air in place, still have high elevation snows and lots of showers in the appalachians and upstate new york into pennsylvania. and some of those showers trying to make it east of the mountains here coming out to or northwestern suburbs. so as we look at the futurecast, we're going to show a couple of showers here and there especially so forth and west this morning. mountain snows through midday at the higher elevations especially over 2500, 3,000 feet. into the afternoon hours and

still lots of clouds, more bark than bite here. not that much in the way of precip. overnight partly cloudy and at times some breaks but then even a few more snow showers can't be ruled out friday with the up slope of the highest elevations. a mix of sun can clouds tomorrow -- and clouds tomorrow and that will be the case even through the weekend. looking at the forecast -- staying cool also. 55 stray shower especially this morning. with mostly cloudy skies. brie i is the times. tonight -- breezy at times. tonight we're dipping back into the 30s and 40s. saturday a decent day. 54. the terrapins are home. i think the yellow jackets are coming to town to play maryland and then clock is back saturday night. mid 50s sunday for the skins' game and tuesday and wednesday a storm could pass us off in the ocean south and east with highs in the low 50s. it is will:50. good morning -- will:49. good morning monika samtani. you know we don't have the problems that we dealt with the

last few days but nonetheless, we have a problem. it's on the southbound side of 395 right here at route 110. let's take a live look at it right now and we believe it's police activity here along the right side of the roadway luckily the ramp to route 110 remains open and the main lines remain open as well. again this is southbound 395. not affecting your northbound drive into the downtown area. but just be aware that activity it looks like quite a bit of police have now arrived at the scene and we're trying to make some phone calling to find out what's going on there. a live look elsewhere, planning to head here on the northbound side of i-95, this looks great. no problems from route 644 to the beltway. in fact all the way up from dale city. and now let's go to maryland on the southbound side of i-270. live look here at route 121. lanes are open through clarks burg from frederick and down to the point where the lanes divide. i'll be back. back to you guys. new research shows a new head lice treatment is very effective. a study in the new england

journal of medicine looked at 765 patients and found 95% were lice-free after one dose of a lotion containing iver mectin. it's currently prescribed in pill form. hypnosis may help women during menopause suffering through hot flashes. researchers at baylor university looked at 187 women and found hypnotic relaxation therapy reduced hot flashes as much as 80%. women also had less anxiety and depression. previous studies show hypnosis can also help lower hot flashes in breast cancer survivors. a new study in the journal fleet suggests not getting enough of this could cause to you overeat. researchers found short sleep that's estimated at just four hours a night can affect the hormone which stimulates hunger. in men their appetite was increased and women feel less full. many women dream of having children at some point in their lives but for women, who are

severely obese, that may be all it ever be. a dream. >> but they are choosing weight loss surgery to fulfill their desires to be mothers, vinita nair reports. >> reporter: she always dreamed about being a mom. but seven years ago it didn't seem possible. she weighed 340 pounds and had high blood pressure and was prediabetic. her doctor gave her devastating news. >> the chances of me conceiving naturally would be very slim. practically impossible. >> reporter: the 33-year-old says that was her wakeup call. >> so that's when i started researching weight loss surgery. >> reporter: dr. mitchell rosslyn says a growing number of obese women are resorting to surgery to help fertility. >> having excess fat changes the concentration of the hormones that actually regulate

menstruation and ovulation. >> reporter: they are either overweight or obese and doctors say losing even 10% of your body weight could help increase fertility and help prevent pregnancy complications. >> there's a higher chance of miscarriage. there's a higher chance of high gestational weight baby. secondary gestational diabetes. >> reporter: she lost 66 pounds just six months after surgery. she also got a big surprise. >> yes, i was pregnant. >> reporter: she now has two boys and weighs 160 pounds. >> the someone would have told me then that this would be my life now, i would have laughed in their faces. >> okay right this way. >> reporter: she's happy her weight and even happy her family. vinita nair, cbs news, new york. >> surgeons stress the importance of patients searching what surgery is right for them. -- researching what surgery is right for them. doctors recommend waiting 12 to 18 months after surgery to try

to get pregnant. it is 4:54. here's the question of the morning -- log on to our facebook fan page. we'd love to hear what you think. we'll have the answer in our 6:00 hour.

welcome back. 4:56. your weather first on this thursday morning. and kind of like the last couple of days lots of clouds and a little bit of sun. breezy at times and maybe a stray shower north and west this morning. temperatures slowly making it to the lower 50s by 1:00. with a high today about 55 degrees. again mostly cloudy skies and breezy. monika? on the southbound side of 395, i was on the phone just a sec ago with arlington county police, this is a traffic stop

southbound 395 at route 110. i'm not sure how long this is going to be there right side of the road is affected but the ramp is open. i'll keep on top of this and have more traffic for you coming up at 5:01. back to you guys. montgomery county is offering some help for the people who have tons of debris because of hurricane sandy. if you have pieces of branches and other things that are less than 4.5 feet in length and 4 inches in diameter, you can just put them out with the regular recycling. they'll be collected. if they're larger than four feet drop them off at -- well, densely washington is back on the big screen starting tomorrow a new thriller called "flight." >> bigad shaban sat down with him in los angeles. >> oh lord we're coming out at 7,000 i see nothing but -- >> reporter: denzel washington plays a pilot whose life takes a nosedive in the new movie "flight." >> speed breaks. >> reporter: washington's character is 30,000 feet in the air. when a mechanical failure turns the plane and his career upside

down. but landing the plane wasn't the biggest challenge for his character. who's an alcoholic. >> landing himself is the most difficult part of the journey. coming to terms with his addiction. >> reporter: he spent about ten hours inside a flight simulator preparing for the film. british actress kelly riley had to learn how to speak like an american for her role. >> i went with a dialect coach and the woman who's my costume -- this is my costumes every day. she was a wonderful woman from alabama and i just spoke to her a lot. >> reporter: john goodman had his own challenge as his oddball friend. >> you okay captain whittaker? i had to have these prepost rouse hair weaves and had to carry that around with me for with months. >> reporter: he's not interested in getting into the pilot seat. have you ever had an interest

in flying? >> i thought about it. i thought about it but -- probably not now. i don't know. >> reporter: but he promises audiences will enjoy the flight. bigad shaban, cbs news, los angeles. >> an escape to the movies might be a good thing after the we can we had. -- woke we had. good morning and thank you for watching 9news now at 5:00 a.m. escape with us right here. i'm andrea roane. >> thanks so much for waking up with us, i'm mike hydeck. monika samtani? mr. bernstein how are you anywhere. >> we are all well and didn't see too much in the way of the impact from sandy as especially considering our friends who are north. i have family in long island. they're okay, they're without power after that. >> our own colleague bruce leshan suffered the tree through the roof -- >> but they're safe. >> they're safe. >> that's a good thing. >> yeah. let's talk about today because another day like we've had. breezy. cool lots of clouds a little sun and maybe a shower. this pattern will break down slowly as the remnants of sandy fete out